L’angolo di Marisa
Marisa is a second generation Italian-American. All four of her grandparents emigrated to the U.S. from Sicily at the turn of the 20th century. Her parents could understand some, but not speak very much Italian so , unfortunately, aside from a great deal of food vocabulary, her experience of the language was limited to such expressions as the ubiquitous exhortation: “Mangia, mangia, che ti fa bene! / Eat, eat, it’s good for you!” and the oft-repeated command “Vieni qua!/ Come here!”
Always interested in languages, in the mid 1980’s she decided to go to Italy to reconnect with her heritage. She spent about a year in Florence studying Italian and working; first as an au pair, then in a tourist shop and finally, giving English lessons. A twist of fate led her to Spain where she remained for several years teaching English. Upon returning to the U.S., she obtained a Master’s degree in Spanish and currently enjoys being a Spanish instructor. She says that Italy will always be “il paese del mio cuore / the country of my heart”.
L’angolo di Marisa
Oggi è giovedì, il venticinque febbraio 2010. Sono le otto di sera.
Un consiglio
Come parlare l’italiano tutti i giorni? Dato che non è sempre possibile conversare con un italiano nativo, dovete cercare le occasioni di incorporare la lingua nella vostra vita quotidiana e ... parlate con voi stessi in italiano! Invece di domandarvi o dirvi in inglese, ad esempio, “Where’s my pen? “ , “Here it is.” “It’s a new book.” “I should speak to Mary.” “What’s this?”, fatelo in italiano! Così potrete practicare anche quando da soli!
E come sempre, divertitevi!
A presto,
Marisa
Marisa’s Corner
Today is Thursday, February 25, 2010. It’s eight o’clock in the evening.
A tip
How to speak Italian every day? Since it’s not always possible to converse with a native Italian speaker, you need to look for opportunities to incorporate the language into your daily life..speak to yourselves in Italian! Instead of asking yourselves or saying to yourselves in English, for example: “Dove è la mia penna? , “Eccola qua” , “E un libro nuovo. , “Dovrei parlare con Maria.” , “Cosa è questo?, Do it in Italian! This way you’ll be able to practice even when you’re alone!
And as always, have fun!
See you soon,
Marisa
